134,000 people visited the regional park of Sierra Espuña last year The Department of the Natural Environment in the regional government of Murcia has completed a study into making tourism compatible with the preservation of the mountains of Sierra Espuña, where the regional park welcomed as many as 134,000 visitors last year. One of the aims of the study is to determine the maximum number..

The substitute bus service will continue to run until 28th February The Spanish railway management company Renfe has announced that the C-2 line linking the city of Murcia with Lorca and Águilas will remain closed for five days longer than had originally been expected, not re-opening until the morning of Thursday 28th February. The closure affects the service which stops at Alhama de Murcia..

The version of events offered by the accused did not tie in with crime scene investigation findings A 64-year-old woman has been detained by the Guardia Civil in Mazarrón on charges of falsely reported a burglary at her home, and if found guilty will face a significant fine. The arrested reported the supposed burglary in late January, alleging that her home had been broken into while she..

Callers to businesses are falsely claiming to represent a magazine supported by the Town Hall The Town Hall of Mazarrón has issued an official statement warning establishments and businesses in the municipality to pay no attention to fraudsters attempting to con them out of money for advertising in a magazine publication about emergencies and citizen safety. The conmen are reported to be phoning..

Open pipes and wells have been sealed sealed in Cartagena and Alhama in light of the recent tragedy in Málaga After the tragic death of a 2-year-old boy in Málaga last month, when he fell down a well which had been drilled prospecting for water and which had not been properly sealed, local authorities all over Spain have been on the lookout for other similar boreholes, and at least two cases..

Three years of Facebook activity led to two of his accounts being closed A 53-year-old resident of Águilas has been arrested by the Guardia Civil on charges of committing hate crimes after he was found to have been recommending propagating racist feeling against immigrants and Muslims since 2016. The accused opened various Facebook accounts on which he published hundreds of comments advocating..

The Guardia Civil call upon the public to report suspected cases of maltreatment of pets A resident of Alhama de Murcia is facing charges after he was found by the Seprona wildlife protection wing of the Guardia Civil to be keeping a pet dog in “deplorable” conditions and to be in breach of the law related to maltreatment of pets. The Guardia’s investigation began early in the month..

No need to take a taxi to get back to your Águilas after a night of revelry! With the 2019 Carnival festivities about to get under way in Águilas the special urban bus timetables for the two weeks of parades has been made public. For both of the weekends of major parades there will be a near 24-hour service running between the town centre and areas where hotels and hostels are concentrated..

The equipment is designed and built by a team at the Polytechnic University of Cartagena A team from the Universidad Politécnica de Cartagena (UPCT), with support from the regional government of Murcia, is preparing the launch of a scheme to monitor the Region of Murcia’s marine reserves and fish farms by the use of drone robots. The first trial of the devices to be used will be carried..

A small but important step to combat plastic pollution in the seas and oceans Over the last two years the regional and local governments of the Region of Murcia have been stepping up their efforts to reduce the consumption of single-use plastic products, and in Águilas the latest move is the elimination of all plastic cups from Town Hall offices and buildings. Conscious of the huge problems..

The route will come into operation for the summer and may include a stop in Camposol A month after the opening of the Region of Murcia International Airport in Corvera it has been confirmed that a coach service will operate during the summer connecting the terminal building with Mazarrón, Lorca and Águilas in the south-west of the Region. According to Patricio Valverde, the minister for..

Neighbours reported the characteristic scent of cannabis in a nearby playground A man and a woman are under investigation and face possible charges after a marijuana plantation was found by the Guardia Civil in a property in Totana which they were occupying illegally, it was reported on Wednesday. The Guardia searched the property after neighbours reported the strong characteristic scent..

Up to 1.4 million lettuces can be planted in a day by the machine in the fields of Balsapintada An illustration of the extent of leaf vegetable farming in the Campo de Cartagena, from where a large proportion of the produce makes its way to supermarket shelves in the UK within three days of picking, is that a firm in Fuente Álamo is currently using a machine which can plant between 700,000..

Two men were caught with octopus and grouper while fishing at night without a licence Two furtive fishermen have been caught red-handed by the Guardia Civil in La Azohía, at the eastern end of the Bay of Mazarrón, and face fines after being relieved of illegally caught octopus, grouper and scorpion fish. The Guardia are involved in a constant operation to clamp down on unauthorized fishing..

The second release this year for the same lucky turtle after earlier treatment in Valencia! Another loggerhead sea turtle was re-released into the wild last Friday after receiving treatment at the Wildlife Recovery Centre in El Valle, in the mountains just outside the city of Murcia, having been found on the point of drowning after becoming entangled in a fishing net near La Manga del Mar Menor..

Two men spent 800 euros using cards belonging to supposed friends! Two men have been arrested by the Guardia Civil in Mazarrón in connection with repeated instances of credit card fraud in the municipality in which the victims were, in theory at least, their friends. The amount of money concerned is relatively small at approximately 800 euros, but the Guardia report that various offences..

Two 30-kilo packages were dumped in a bin somewhere in the west of the Region of Murcia The staff at the Limusa waste management plant in Barranco Hondo, in the municipality of Lorca, continue to stumble across unusual items in the tons of refuse they process on a daily basis, and following the recent discoveries of two mortar bombs, one in October and on 3rd January of this year, the latest..

Quicker and safer access to the Fortress of the Sun in Lorca Until now visiting Lorca castle by car has entailed a drive on the narrow winding access road which snakes its way up the hill on which the “Fortress of the Sun” stands, but work to improve and widen the Carretera de Murviedro is now nearing completion and in a fortnight’s time the new two-way road is expected to be open to..

These walks are run by the council of Alhama de Murcia Registration opens on the 5th February for the first two routes in the 2019 cycle: Route 1: LA MUELA Y LOS BARRANCOS DE GEBAS. 'Mountains, forests and desert in one morning'. Sunday 17th February • Route 2: SIERRA DE CARRASCOY. 'Along the slopes of Majal Blanco'. Sunday 24th March The Town Hall of Alhama de Murcia has opened..

This affects service stopping at Alhama de Murcia, Totana, Lorca, Puerto Lumbreras and Librilla Between midnight of Sunday10th (ie 00.01am on the morning of the 11th) and 06:00 on the morning of the 23rd February ADIF, the body responsible for the technical operations of the railway network will be closing the C-2 railway line between Águilas and Murcia City for maintenance. This affects..

Popular walking routes will remain open although areas near them will be out of bounds The Nature Protection department of the regional government of Murcia has announced that paths and tracks in parts of the regional park of Sierra Espuña are to be closed to the public from January to June 2019 in order to help preserve endangered species, particularly golden eagles, during the mating and..

Why would anyone want to enter the fraught world of politics instead of enjoying a peaceful retirement in the sun? Most ex-pats who choose to retire to the sun anticipate a peaceful retirement enjoying the many, many advantages of a life in Spain, and here in the Murcia Region the warmest mainland region of the country, there are certainly plenty of benefits for those who choose to enjoy their..

This year the organisers of the carnival have added a new online booking system and tickets are on sale now The countdown is underway to the biggest and brightest carnival of the Murcia Region, which takes place every spring in the Águilas municipality. Carnival always takes place 40 days before Easter and this year the Carnival events in Águilas take place between the 23rd February..

Prices have been reduced to try and persuade more young people to pursue sporting activities Alhama de Murcia possesses excellent sporting facilities, amongst which is a well-equipped municipal gym and an indoor swimming pool. In order to encourage a larger number of younger people and adults to take up regular exercise, the council has launched new tariffs which are valid until June 2019..